


Royal Colors

by DianaMorticai



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: (kinda), Abusive Parents, BoyxBoy, Bullying, Finally writing a chaptered fic, Fluff and Angst, High School, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Principal Asano is a dick but what did you expect, Slow Burn, Smut, Tutoring, UNDERAGE SEX WARNING, Yaoi, dw that's an important part of the plot I swear, hi, it'll come later, lmao gayness, yay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-04-06 08:12:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14052699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianaMorticai/pseuds/DianaMorticai
Summary: Gakushū Asano is dreading his father's new tutoring program - unfortunately, he doesn't have much of a choice. The top five students of Class A have been tasked with tutoring the worst class in the entire school: Class 3-E. When Gakushū gets stuck with tutoring Karma Akabane, neither of them are particularly happy about it. Still, neither can deny the other's intelligence and determination.But budding feelings are the last thing either of them needs, with one trying to protect himself, while the other is trying to protect the world.





	1. Oh, How I Hate This

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is the first chaptered fic that I've written in years, so enjoy! Also, sorry in advance for the bad spacing in this chapter. AO3 formatted this story kinda weirdly. I'll make sure the next chapter has actual spaces between the paragraphs!

“I don’t believe this.”  
Sitting across the kitchen table, Principal Asano smiled down at his son. Gakushū wouldn’t call it a smile - it was too ingenuine. It was more the act of his lips curling upward, rather than a sincere smile. “You should believe it.” The headmaster said, taking another bite of his breakfast. He moved with a graceful efficiency in everything he did, whether it was eating breakfast or typing on his computer, or teaching a lesson. There was a glint in his eyes that, while Gakushū saw it practically every day, still felt eerily unfamiliar.  
Gakushū stared. 

\---

“Starting next week, Class A will be participating in a new tutoring program.”  
The students of Class A glanced up from their notes. Class had just finished for the day, but the students were still sat in their seats, not planning on leaving for at least another hour, studying as hard as they could. That was the way of things, every day. The students barely managed to keep up with their teacher - this extra hour of study was almost seen as downtime.  
Standing at the front of the classroom, Gakushū Asano held a packet of papers. He tried to hide his annoyance. “To help the lower classes with their studies, Class A will be tasked with tutoring the students in classes B through E.”  
The students immediately looked uncomfortable. Some of them even looked disgusted. “Us, teach them?” A girl drawled, which won a few snickers from her classmates. Another student raised their hand to get Gakushū’s attention. “Asano, there aren’t enough of us to tutor all of them.”  
Gakushū’s eye twitched. Correct, Captain Obvious. “Right. Not all of us will be tutoring the same class.” He said. He turned around, grabbing a piece of chalk and sketching out a chart on the chalkboard. He could feel the eyes of the other students on his back. The chart he drew was difficult to understand until it was completely written out: on the right, a list of all the Class A students. On the left, a more physically spaced out list of the classes in the school. Classes A through E. The list on the right, the students realized, was a list of exam scores - Gakushū knew every single one. Students with the highest scores were at the top. Gakushū was listed as number one, which was to be expected. The rest of the top five, Teppei Araki, Ren Sakakibara, Natsuhiko Koyama, and Tomoya Seo were all listed directly below him. The students who scored the lowest were listed at the bottom. The class list, on the other hand, was put in the opposite order: Class B, the second-best class, was at the bottom of the list. At the top of the list, the worst class, the class everyone dreaded: Class E.  
“The program will be organized like so.” Gakushū stated. He began to draw lines, connecting the students on the right to classes of the left. They all went horizontal - the top-scoring student were now connected with Class E. The low-scoring students were connected with Class B. The middle students were scattered throughout classes C and D. As the chalk glided across the board, Gakushū’s eyebrows furrowed together. Oh, how he hated this.  
He turned back around to face the class. They were all staring at him with different expressions - some confused, some curious. He made eye contact with his four friends in the class, the other members of the top five. Whether or not he really thought of them as friends was up to debate - more like peers he could respect. They were scattered throughout the classroom. Gakushū made eye contact with Sakakibara, and it was clear that the other boy had already figured out where this was going. He wore a look that was often seen on his face, a look of disdain, mixed with power and intellect. It wasn’t an uncommon facial expression for the students of Class A.  
“The top-most students in this class will be teaching the lowest levels.” Gakushū said. “If students are in a higher class, they have more of an equal-footing with their Class A tutors.” He looked down at the packet in his hand. It had been given to him by the headmaster, practically a scripted speech. “This will support a greater curve of learning among the students of the school.”  
A dull chatter spread through the room, carrying an air of uncertainty. Students glanced at one another, whispering. Gakushū couldn’t blame them, not really. Where would they even find the time to do this? If this tutoring was an after-school activity, did that mean that the Class A students would have to find more time to study? Would they have to work even harder?  
Gakushū sighed internally. It was a plan that theoretically would work, but Gakushū could already see holes in the plan and its execution. Conveniently, the population of Class A was made up of an easily-divisible twenty-five students - five tutors per class. However, Gakushū knew well enough that the exam scores didn’t always mark a person’s intelligence. Having the tutor system based solely on exam scores seemed like a lose strategy.  
“Well, Asano,” Piped up a voice. Gakushū glanced up from the packet, which he realized he’d been studying for a couple seconds too long. “Yes, Seo?”  
“Does...does this mean that us top five will be tutoring...Class E?”  
Silence fell across the room. This is what Gakushū didn’t want to have to say outright. He blinked, then put on his best, yes-well-that-seems-to-be-the-circumstance face. “Yes...it would appear so.”  
“Are you kidding?” Whined another of the top five, Araki. “This is the worst use of our time! When will we find the time to study?”  
“Yeah, we don’t have time for this…” Said another boy. Multiple students began talking at once. It was on the verge of making Gakushū’s head hurt. He smiled tightly. “Headmaster Asano’s orders.” This was beginning to bother Gakushū even more. Normally, he would find a way to lift the spirits of his classmates. He would give a rousing speech, using his charisma and charm to raise morale. Except, now, he honestly could see no positive side to this. This would be a test for every student of Class A, lest they know the result of demotion to a lower class. Gakushū used the only card he had at the moment. “I wouldn’t worry,” He said, his voice bold. Everyone turned to him. “We’re Class A. If anyone can handle this, it’s us.”  
There were reluctant nods of agreement.  
After the after-school study session was over, Gakushū began packing up his books, ready to leave for the day. He couldn’t help but continuously think over the packet his father had given him. Surely the headmaster knew that this idea was not in any way a sound one. Why was he doing this?  
On his way out of the classroom, he was approached by Koyama and Sakakibara.  
“Okay, Asano. What gives?” Koyama muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. “This is ridiculous.”  
“He’s right, Asano-kun.” Sakakibara said. His usual smile was gone. “How are we going to be able to keep up with anything if we have to tutor them?” Gakushū kept himself from groaning out loud. The more his friends acted like they hated Class E, the more he would hate trudging up the mountain after school to tutor them. “This isn’t a good idea. You can see that, right?” Sakakibara’s tone was neutral, but there was a hint of something that Gakushū couldn’t place. It irked him.  
“I’m not looking forward to it either.” Gakushū retorted. Sometimes he marveled at the fact that the Class A students, seemingly extremely intelligent (the chosen, as they say!), couldn’t seem to separate him from his father. “It was the headmaster’s idea, not mine.” He began walking away from them. “But it would do everyone some good to complain a little less and plan ahead a little more.”  
With that, he turned the corner, away from his classmates. He realized what had been in Sakakibara’s voice: challenge of leadership. Gakushū realized suddenly that if this tutoring program turned out to be a disaster, as everyone feared, then it wouldn’t been seen as Headmaster Asano’s fault. It would be Gakushū’s. Which meant that he would have to make this program work. He would need to find a more efficient way for Class A to learn, so that they had the actual time to participate in this program. 

\---

Gakushū did not respect Class E.  
But the class was nothing to sneeze at either.  
Despite their reputation, Class E had managed to top some of the Class A students during the first semester’s final exam. Gakushū acted, for the sake of the rest of Class A, that the Class E students got lucky. But no. While he refused to admit that he harboured even an ounce of respect for them (because he didn’t), Gakushū recognized that they weren’t weak. He knew they didn’t get lucky on that exam. Some of the students in that class weren’t even in there for bad grades. Yuuma Isogai was sent to Class E for working a part-time job without the school’s permission, to support his family. Yukiko Kanzaki was sent there for being a juvenile delinquent - her file stated she was rebelling against her father, practically a dictator of his own home. Then there was Karma Akabane, the most arrogant of the bunch, whose story was almost too poetic. He was exceptionally smart, it was a wonder he fell down to Class E at all. But after seeing someone getting bullied simply for being a member of Class E, Akabane beat up the bully, who happened to be the school’s valedictorian. Because of his idiocy he was sent to Class E, skating by through his classes, not putting any real effort into his studies. A natural genius who never acted like it.  
Gakushū really didn’t like him.  
He didn’t like any of them.  
Whether they had bad grades or bad behavior, every one of them deserved to be there. The circumstances were irrelevant. 

\---

When Gakushū arrived home, he didn’t expect to see his father in the living room. The headmaster was almost never home after the school day had finished, always staying at the school well into the evening. Doing hell knows what.  
He was sitting in a chair, reading the newspaper, drinking a glass of water. He would have been the spitting image of a normal father if it weren’t for the cellphone (one of many that he owned) on the coffee table in front of him, the speaker spewing the sound of someone yelling.  
Admittedly curious, Gakushū carefully slid his school bag off his shoulder and quietly padded down the hall, peeking in through the doorway into the living room. Aware that his father probably heard him come in, he remained silent. The less his father knew where he was, the better. He strained to listen to the speaker on the phone.  
“-unfair!” The voice shouted. Gakushū stiffened a bit. He recognized the voice; it was one of the teachers from the main school building. “Coming to us first would have been-”  
“I’m aware of your annoyance, Watanabe.” The headmaster said calmly, taking another sip of his water. He wasn’t even looking at his phone, reading the newspaper instead. His mental skill allowed him to read and listen at the same time, though Gakushū doubted he was focused on the phone call at all.  
“The tutoring program is problematic for the other teachers. We now have to adjust the curriculum so that students can have time for the Class A kids…”  
Is that what this was about? Gakushū felt a little relieved. At least the students weren’t the only ones who thought this was a bad idea.  
In the living room, his father turned the page of his newspaper. “Perhaps you’re only thinking short-term.” He said. He still wasn’t bothering to look at his phone. “This will motivate the students to surpass their tutors.” He suddenly glanced up, over his newspaper, making direct eye contact with Gakushū through the doorway. His son’s eyes widened considerably, but he didn’t dare move. “Power and surpassment are the ruling themes of this academy, after all.” The headmaster’s eyes bore into those of his son’s, a small, almost smug smile on his face.  
The teacher over the phone was silent for a moment. Then, “Yes, sir. You are correct.”  
“Yes.” The headmaster said, putting the newspaper down and picking up his cellphone from the coffee table, hanging up. He turned to look at his son through the doorway. “Asano,” He greeted. Gakushū shook his nerves away, stepping into the room. “Good afternoon.” He replied.  
His father stood up from his chair, an empty water glass in his hand. “How did the Class A students like the idea of the tutoring program?”  
“...They were skeptical.” Gakushū said gingerly. “They’re worried about the program intruding on their own study time.” He watched as his father walked past him, out of the room. Gakushū followed close behind the headmaster, into the kitchen. His father washed the water glass by hand and placed it back in the kitchen cabinet, remaining silent the whole time. Gakushū stood in the doorway, watching his father carefully. His father had a look on his face that said he was thinking. Calculating. Gakushū knew better than to speak. Or to leave.  
Finally, his father turned around to face him. “If they’re so hesitant, then it is your job to make sure everything goes smoothly for Class A.” He smiled. It was that same, ingenuine, unfamiliar smile. “You are their trusted leader, aren’t you, Asano?”  
“Yes, headmaster.” Gakushū’s response was immediate, instinctive. His father nodded, and then walked past his son again, out of the kitchen. Gakushū knew this conversation was finished, at least on his father’s end, but he still wanted to know the end result his father was after. He followed his father, down the hall and into his study. The room was small: beige walls, with books on every surface. There were several awards hanging on the walls, all praising the headmaster’s educational qualification and skill. The desk was perfectly organized. The headmaster turned around, leaning against his desk to look at his son, who was apprehensively standing in the doorway. He smiled. “You’re wondering why I chose to create this program.”  
Gakushū nodded. The headmaster leaned his head back, closing his eyes. “Whatever the other teachers may think, I’m doing this for the good of my students.” He said. He opened his eyes, looking directly at Gakushū. “As much as you may wish to find an ulterior motive, there is none.”  
Lies. Gakushū thought.  
“I see.” Gakushū said. 

\---

“Asano-kun! Hold on!”  
Gakushū turned around to look back at his classmates, who were farther behind him. The five of them were climbing up the mountain. Today was the first day of the tutoring program.  
“Are you having trouble climbing the mountain?” Gakushū inquired, stopping to wait for the other four students.  
“This mountain is steeper than it looks!” Araki huffed. The headmaster’s son rolled his eyes. If his classmates were struggling with hiking up the mountain every day after school, this would be a long several months.  
The students of Class A had slowly come to accept the idea of tutoring those below them. With some persuasion on Gakushū’s part, the students of the class came to realize that this was a good chance to show off just how top-tiered Class A really was. At this rate, Gakushū would happily lead them to that conclusion, if only to satisfy their need for motivation. The weight of this responsibility had only just recently hit him, and he’d realized that he needed to be confident in this whole endeavor.  
By the time they reached the top of the mountain, a couple of them were sweating. Gakushū wasn’t particularly fatigued, although he was surprised at the intensity of the hike. The classroom he and his classmates looked upon was pathetic in and of itself. A small building. Nothing fancy about it at all. The school day was over, and he could hear the chatter of the students inside. The mountain breeze rushed past them suddenly; he heard Koyama let out a yell of annoyance as his hair got futzed with. Gakushū sighed. He would have to get used to all of this. At least he didn’t have classes here all day.  
“Do we just go in?” Araki muttered from behind Gakushū. As if on cue, a man stepped out of the building. He was tall and well built, with jet black hair that seemed to stand on end. He had a stern look on his face as he took in the five Class A students.  
He walked towards them, unsmiling. “Hello.” He said, stopping a few feet away from them. “I’m Mr. Karasuma. I’m the Class 3-E teacher.” He lowered his chin, eyeing them. Gakushū met his gaze. Karasuma’s eyes were intense, and he found it somewhat difficult to hold his stare. “You’re the tutors from Class A, right?” He asked gruffly.  
“Yes.” Gakushū said.  
“We’re here to make sure they understand how hard life in the main building can get, really.” Sakakibara said. “They seem to have it so easy up here.” He added. Koyama chuckled.  
Gakushū said nothing, and neither did Karasuma, for a moment. The teacher seemed weary of the students, and Gakushū supposed that was for good reason. They eyed each other for a second, before Karasuma broke the silence. “Well, come on in, then,” He said, turning to walk back into the 3-E building. Gakushū followed him, his classmates trailing behind. The chatter that emitted from the classroom had died down, he noticed. Had the Class E students been listening in?  
Karasuma opened the door and led them inside. The building had no heating or air conditioning system to speak of, and the smell was musty. “Smells like dust.” Seo said intelligently. Gakushū tried not to roll his eyes for the second time. As they walked down the short hallway to the classroom, Gakushū wondered just how bad the potential backlash would be. It was no secret that the Class E kids despised Class A - the feeling was mutual. The son of the headmaster figured that the Class E students wouldn’t be too happy about this idea. Especially since, theoretically, there was a major rift in intellect between the students of classes A and E. This would be somewhat difficult for both parties.  
With an air of caution, the tutors walked into the classroom. Gakushū knew full well that this wouldn’t end in violence - why should it? - but he couldn’t help but feel the overwhelming pressure of simply being outnumbered. As he walked into the room, the Class E students stared at him. Their glares felt like daggers in his back. There was a heavy silence as the Class A students walked up to the front of the room. Gakushū mentally pinched himself. He was Gakushū Asano. Son of the headmaster. The brilliant, charismatic leader of Class A. This wouldn’t be an issue.  
Stepped up to the teacher’s podium, looking out at the students of Class E. He recognized some of them. Nagisa Shiota, one of the quieter students, was sat in the middle, towards the front. He looked nervous. Gakushū had heard about him, and how he looked like a girl. He had to admit that Shiota did look quite feminine, with his light blue hair tied up in what looked like short pigtails. There was Rio Nakamura, who was known from the final exam as an expert in the subject of English. She was staring at him, almost smugly. She was not afraid of him. He also recognized Manami Okuda, who had somehow surpassed Koyama in the subject of science on the final exam, ranking first out of all the students in the school. She also appeared to be nervous. However, every single one of them had their eyes focused on Gakushū. Untrusting. It was...almost as if they were plotting to kill him.  
Gakushū felt uncomfortable in here. Ever since Class A’s defeat in the final exam of the first semester, he could barely stand to think about Class E. The results of the final exam had burned a hole in his father’s philosophy. That disbelief had spread to Gakushū as well. How was it possible? For the class that everyone hated, despised, loathed, to be smart enough for that exam? For some of them to surpass the elite of the elite? It had eaten away at Gakushū’s mind. His classmates hadn’t been any better off. Groans of disbelief could be heard throughout the entire school building that day.  
Right now, with this program, Gakushū saw a chance to prove them wrong. Prove to everyone in Class E that, while they definitely won a round on the final exam, they were in no way of the same caliber as Class A.  
Gakushū didn’t start with a friendly hello. No point. “This will work very simply.” He said, putting an intense boldness in his voice. The students didn’t move a muscle. “The five of us will be spread out among the twenty-seven students in this class. This program is only supposed to last a couple of months.” Gakushū couldn’t stop himself from adding, “So let’s try not to kill each other.” He let a small smile form on his lips. The more he talked, the easier this felt. He turned around, about to grab a piece of chalk. “The students will be divided-”  
Just then, the classroom door opened. Surprised, Gakushū looked up - to see none other than Karma Akabane, standing in the doorway. He didn’t look rushed, rather, he appeared surprised, and then amused, as he saw the top five students from Class A standing at the front of the room. “Well now.” He let out a low whistle. “What did I miss?”  
“Karma.” Mr. Karasuma called, from the corner of the room. “That was a long bathroom break, what took you so long?”  
The rest of the class snickered a little at Karasuma’s stern tone. Akabane, still in the doorway, shoved his hands in his pockets and tilted his head back. Bored. “I just took my time, Mr. Karasuma.” He sighed.  
“Who woulda thought; Class E students are even slow when they take a shit!” Koyama whispered. The other tutors laughed to themselves. Gakushū turned to face the red-haired boy in the doorway. “Akabane, sit down with the rest of your classmates.” He said flatly, unamused by the whole situation.  
“And why am I listening to you, again?” Akabane drawled, tipping his chin forward so that strands of his red hair covered his face. Every movement was lazy, but it had purpose.  
Gakushū smirked. “We are tutoring you.”  
Akabane’s eyes widened, seemingly in surprise. “Shit, that was today? Aw, man.” He laughed, carelessly. “Didn’t remember.”  
“Clearly.” Karasuma’s voice rang throughout the room. Gakushū turned to look at the man, who looked rather irritated. “Get to your seat, Karma.”  
“Yeah.” He sighed again, walking over to his seat, towards the back of the classroom. As he passed the Class A students, he looked Gakushū directly in the eyes. “Guess you Class A folks are just forgettable.”  
Gakushū refrained from baring his teeth at the Class E student, instead settling for a hard glare. The rest of Class E let out quiet giggles as Akabane walked to his seat. Behind him, Gakushū heard a few small gasps from the other four tutors. Before his classmates could say anything, however, he put his left hand behind his back, so that they could see it, and held up his index finger. It was a signal. Don’t make a scene. In that moment, Gakushū decided that they would have to win with maturity. They would be the ones to act appropriately. If this tutoring program went down the drain, it would be the fault of Class E. Not Class A. Not him.  
“As I was saying.” Gakushū continued, grabbing the chalk and beginning to draw out a chart on the chalkboard. “The class will be divided into five groups, one for each Class A student. Since this class can’t be divided evenly by five, two of the tutors will be teaching six students, not five.”  
“We can all do math, Asano.” Akabane’s voice was loud and obnoxious. Gakushū turned to face him. The Class E students weren’t laughing this time, but they still looked amused. Gakushū couldn’t see Akabane clearly from where he was standing; he could just see a peak of red hair. Remembering something, Gakushū suddenly stepped forwards, closer to the rest of the class, and crossed his arms. A smug smile rose to his lips. “Really?” He took another step. He could see Akabane’s face now, and he looked him directly in the eyes. “Your exam score said otherwise.”  
Akabane immediately tensed, his face tinged pink with embarrassment. The Class E students didn’t say anything. “What, you think I don’t know the exam score of every single one of you?” Gakushū said, turning his head to make eye contact with some of the students. “Some of you don’t have a sliver of chance of returning to the main building.” He turned to face Akabane again, who wasn’t meeting Gakushū’s gaze. The other boy’s sudden shame amused Gakushū greatly. This would be a small dose of revenge.  
He let disdain leak into his voice. “I know that Akabane failed to get first place in mathematics on the final exam.” He began walking towards Akabane’s seat in the back of the room. “And I suspect it was because you decided not to study.” He was now two feet from Akabane’s desk. The redhead wasn’t looking at Gakushū, looking down at his desk instead. Gakushū spoke clearly, loudly. “A typical Class E student.”  
This was true. He knew that Akabane was a lazy student who didn’t seem to care much about anything. Gakushū had marveled at his exam score at first (this was Class E’s top student?), but then remembered: he was in Class E. Gakushū smirked. No one in Class E could be perfect. It wasn’t possible for them.  
In the corner of the classroom, Mr. Karasuma grunted. A signal to move on.  
“Why the hell are we listening to you?” Another Class E kid quipped suddenly, somewhere from behind Gakushū. Akabane’s head whipped up to stare at the student. His features were hard to read.  
Gakushū turned around to face the person who spoke. “This whole thing is stupid. We don’t even need to be tutored, we’re doing just fine.” The kid slammed his fist onto his desk. “Some of us got first place on the final exam, you know!”  
At another desk, another student stood up. It was Yuuma Isogai, the student who got sent to Class E for working a part-time job. “Terasaka’s right.” He said. His voice was firm, and he stood tall, creating an air of authority and leadership despite his warm demeanor. If Gakushū remembered correctly, he was one of the two class representatives for Class E. “I got first place in civics on the final exam.” Behind Isogai, the other four tutors (who Gakushū had almost forgotten about) were grimacing, too uncomfortable to interrupt anything. Araki, who specialized in civics, flushed red with embarrassment and anger. Gakushū remembered how angry Araki had been when Class A had received their exam scores. Araki, who much like the other students of Class A had become so used to being on top, was in shock when he found out that he had come in second place, behind a Class E student. Right now, the four members of Class A who usually had so much to say were now trying to remain quiet. Gakushū felt a twinge of anger. Why did they have to look so helpless?  
“We may as well be at the same level as you Class As.” Said another student - Taiga Okajima. He was grinning a little, which mad Gakushū want to run over and grab him by the collar. This feeling didn’t go away when he heard Akabane chuckle from behind him. Another student (did they suddenly all have something to say?) coughed, adjusting her hair. It was Megu Kataoka, the other class representative. “How are you all going to teach us, anyhow?”  
“You all.” Gakushū hissed. He was ready to leave these students in the dust - and he still had to tutor them today! “You’re all in Class E.” He walked briskly back up to the front of the room. “You’re all here for a reason.” He said coldly. “Every single one of you is here because you couldn’t fit the standard. You deserve to be here.”  
Silence blanketed the room. The students suddenly looked timid, almost mournful. Gakushū didn’t feel an ounce of pity.  
Mr. Karasuma suddenly coughed again, louder this time. Gakushū nodded at no one in particular. “You all will be given the opportunity to choose who tutors you. There should be three groups of five, and two groups of six.” He turned to the other four Class A students behind him - some of them looked ready to punch the wall. “I will take one of the groups of six.” He sighed internally, already predicting the answer to his next question. “Do any of you volunteer to take the other group of six?”  
Unsurprisingly, none of the other four tutors raised a hand. They all still looked uncomfortable - except Koyama, who looked extremely pissed. Gakushū knew how they felt - the less they had to interact with these students, the better.  
Gakushū sighed again, out loud this time, and turned to the class. He already had a few students he absolutely knew for sure he didn’t want. Ryōma Terasaka seemed to be constantly ticked. There was one kid, Ryunosuke Chiba, who seemed unenthusiastic. Kaede Kayano seemed a bit dense. Manami Okuda didn’t look like she could stop being nervous.  
But the one student he knew for sure he didn’t want -  
“Are we choosing now?” Said a lazy voice. “Because I know exactly who I want to tutor me.”  
God, no. Please, god, no.  
At the back of the room, Karma Akabane stood up. He was smirking.  
“Hey Asano, how ‘bout you take a crack at teaching the top student in the class?” He leaned forward, smile growing wider. “Yours truly.”


	2. What Do You Think This Is?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, so, this chapter took longer than I expected. Sorry if I took to long. I hope you enjoy this, though - it's from Karma's POV this time. (Also, yay for better formatting!)

There were no surprised gasps from the rest of the class. The same couldn’t said for the Class A tutors who stood behind Asano. A couple of gasps, a couple of confused faces. Best of all was Asano, who’s face looked like he’d been punched in the gut. He was staring at the redhead in complete disbelief, as if he didn’t dare believe that this student - this lazy, presumptuous, cocky son of a bitch was truly Class E’s top student. He looked like he was fighting to keep his composure; the Class E students could practically see the steam pouring out of his ears. 

Karma was enjoying every second of this.

“What,” He snickered, unable to help himself. “Am I too smart for you?” 

Asano didn’t say anything for a second, obviously trying to compose himself. Karma let his grin grow wider, making eye contact with Nakamura from the back of the room. The look she gave him was one of hilarity and eagerness. 

Asano’s rage only lasted a moment. “Of course not.” He said finally, his voice even. His hands were by his sides, curled into determined fists. He suddenly released a cruel smile, his eyes narrowing. “You don’t exactly seem very smart.” 

Karma almost laughed. _This was gonna be hilarious_. 

 

\---

 

Karma couldn’t care less about the whole situation, if he was being honest. 

In truth, Class E didn’t need to be tutored. He knew that, his classmates knew that, Koro Sensei knew that. And Karma suspected that Class A knew that too. Class E’s grades had improved immensely over the course of the school year. Their scores on the final exam had been nothing to sneeze at. 

Karma hated Class A. Everyone in Class E hated Class A. Their taunts and glares and obnoxious hee-hawing made every student in Class E want to spit in their face. The second Karma had walked into the classroom after his bathroom break, he knew what to expect. The idea that the Class A kids would be tutoring Class E left a sick feeling in everyone’s stomachs. But not Karma’s - not really. While he hated the top class of the school, he wasn’t scared of them. Neither was anyone else in Class E, really. But Karma, unlike the other students in Class E, had no problem with taunting them right back. Personally, Karma couldn’t understand how the other kids managed to keep their mouths shut. 

He knew that the Class A kids would hate this tutoring program. And he figured Asano would hate it the most. This guy was the top dog of Class A, with a skill set and pedigree to make him almost godly among his peers. 

Thankfully, Karma wasn’t one of his peers. 

At least he could handle himself and keep his composure. At least he wasn’t _useless_. Looking at the other four Class A tutors, standing behind Asano, red-faced and flabbergasted, Karma wanted to kick them. If he were Asano, he would have sent them out of the room. He was legitimately surprised when they decided not to speak up and further defend Asano’s taunts. 

_“Your exam score said otherwise.”_

Sometimes Karma wondered how hilarious it would be for the Class E kids to face the Class A students one-on-one in combat. How would Asano react, he wondered, if he knew that Karma had been able to defeat a professional assassin in hand-to-hand combat, during the Okanowa trip? Did he know that Karma had learned from his failure on that exam?

 _“You don’t exactly seem very smart.”_

Karma was going to have a fun time proving him wrong. 

 

\---

 

Karma ended up in a group with Kanzaki, Nagisa, Isogai, Okano, and Kataoka. In other words, Karma ended up in a group with the nice ones. In other words, the few people who could be trusted not to talk back to, yell at, glare at, cuss at, or direct rude gestures at Asano. In other words, Karma figured they would balance out his own presence just fine. 

Araki, unfortunately for him, got landed with the other group of six students. Karma figured it was because the guy didn’t really look that intimidating, but boy, would he have a storm coming. Araki’s group was made up of Terasaka and his buddies, who were constantly frustrated with everything and everyone that wasn’t them. He also got landed with Nakamura, who would make things more difficult for him with her smug attitude, and Okuda and Sugino, neither of whom were easy to teach if they didn’t feel comfortable with the teacher. Although, Karma figured that could be said for himself as well.

Fortunately for Karma, he wasn’t uncomfortable with his tutor. 

_Nah_. 

Asano immediately went to work, not bothering with pleasantries. “I have a mathematics worksheet for you to complete, so that I can assess your skills.” He said, pulling six sheets of paper out of his backpack. “Do these.” He said, handing them to Kanzaki, who proceeded to hand them to the rest of the students in the group. Before Karma’s fingers touched the paper, he was already off and running. 

“Did you just say _mathematics_ worksheet?” 

Asano looked up at Karma, unfazed. “Yes.”

Karma huffed out a laugh, smirking down at the worksheet. “You could just say _math_ like the rest of us.” He said, smiling at Asano. “You sound so uptight.”

Asano, not to Karma’s surprise, ignored him. He felt Kataoka’s glare, like the tip of a knife at his back. This didn’t surprise him, either. Takaoka wasn’t anything if not ethical. Karma let the corners of his mouth curl up in a small smile. 

Once Karma looked down at the worksheet, however, his smile disappeared. The worksheet was definitely math - that wasn’t the issue. Karma didn’t struggle in math - he never had. The problems on the worksheet weren’t difficult. Still. “Hey, Asano.” 

Asano, clearly a bit irritated, looked up again. “What is it.”

Karma, also a bit irritated, held the worksheet up to Asano’s face. “What do you think this is, exactly?”

“A mathematics worksheet.” Asano replied.

Karma’s eye twitched, staring at the problems on the paper. Bluntly, he said, “Are you too dumb to know the difference between _kindergarten_ math and math for junior high?” He shoved the paper away from him, grunting in frustration. “This is elementary school stuff.” 

“I know full well what level of math that is.” Asano smirked, seemingly amused by Karma’s annoyance. “You _are_ Class E. I’m only accommodating.”

It was one of the things that always succeeded in angering Karma to no end. The fact that the Class A kids couldn’t seem to wrap their peabrains around the fact that Class E _wasn’t stupid_. He didn’t like any part of the way Class E was treated, sure, but it was this part of it that made him hate Class A. He could take the bullying - no one from Class A had really ever tried to mess with him, not since he’d come back from suspension. It still bothered him that some of his classmates got harassed, but it had grown less severe as the year dragged on. He also didn’t mind Class E being excluded from a lot of extracurriculars, since he tended to skip those anyway. But the fundamental lie that Class E wasn’t competent enough to handle an elementary-level worksheet? _That_ pissed him off. 

He knew he wasn’t the only one who felt this way; plenty of his classmates hated the idiot treatment. Sitting here, with five of his politest classmates, he could feel their anger radiating off of them. Even Kanzaki, the sweetest of the bunch, hid some measure of frustration underneath her calm demeanor. 

Asano seemed to be enjoying himself, with all of his “students” suddenly falling silent. Karma rolled his eyes. This was ridiculous. He even had a feeling that Asano knew full well that they could do this worksheet. He was just patronizing them. Karma wasn’t letting this slide. “You want me to do this crap?” Karma growled, sitting down at his desk and grabbing a dully-sharpened pencil. “Fine.” He looked down, trying to really assess what was there was on the worksheet. It was dumbed-down algebra - grade seven stuff. Within two minutes, Karma had blown through all twenty problems, his pencil flying across the paper, calculating as fast as he could. Asano wouldn’t have any foundation to insult his intelligence if he attacked these problems with the same accurate intensity that he approached all of his math with. 

It was only when he finished that he realized that there was barely any point. “Oh, you finished already?” Asano said, a look of surprise on his face. Karma was about to say something along the lines of, _yes, you dipshit,_ when Asano’s surprised face twisted into something mocking. “Congratulations, Akabane. I’m glad you can do simple algebra. Well done.” 

Karma didn’t even nod, unwilling to give Asano the satisfaction of a reaction. Instead, he just twirled his pencil in his hands, keeping up the nonchalant act. “Yeah. Surprised?” 

“Not at all.” Asano answered swiftly. Without looking at Karma, he pulled another worksheet out of his bag. “Do this one.” He practically shoved it at Karma. The redhead looked down at the new paper and nearly crumpled it up in his hands. This math was barely any different from the last one. 

“You’re kidding.” Karma seethed. He spared a glance to his left - Okano was staring at the two of them, watching. He could feel Nagisa and Isogai doing the same, from somewhere behind him. When, Karma wondered, had they all learned to feel the eyes of others on their backs? “This is barely any different.” 

“On the contrary, Akabane.” Asano sighed, crossing his arms. “The math isn’t at all the same.” He pointed at several of the problems on the paper. 

“ _Combining like terms,”_ Karma hissed, “Is basically even more easy than simple algebra.” 

“Perhaps.” Asano said, leaning back on a nearby desk. He narrowed his eyes at Karma, but his obnoxious grin didn’t disappear. “But, surely you know that in order to assess one’s skills, they must be judged with different pieces of material.” He leaned forward a little. “Simple logic, Akabane.” 

Karma raised his eyebrows in sarcastic surprise. “Who knew.” He sighed. Jesus, was Asano always going to be this difficult? 

Apparently the answer was yes. “Also. _Easier,_ Akabane.” 

“What.” 

“It isn’t ‘more easy’ than simple algebra, you dolt. It’s ‘easier’.” 

Before Karma could totally blow his top, Isogai stood up behind Karma. “Asano-san, I’m finished with this worksheet, if you want to check it.” 

Asano didn’t respond, instead opting to just move over to Isogai’s desk. From behind Karma, Nagisa sighed. “Probably not the best idea to lose your cool here, Karma.” He said quietly as Asano spoke to Isogai. 

Karma whirled around, whispering back to his friend. “Maybe, maybe not.” Damn Nagisa and Isogai and their composure. As much as he wanted to argue with Nagisa (especially since Asano called him a _dolt_ ), he knew the blue-haired boy was right, at least to some degree. Isogai had purposefully stood up to save them all the trouble of Karma’s potential outburst. Karma, in a sudden wave of realization, hated the fact that he’d allowed himself to lose his composure so quickly. It wasn’t in his nature, generally. He also realized that he had put himself here, in Asano’s group - although he doubted the teaching methods of the other tutors were any different. But he had to live with his choice, and if that meant living by Asano’s rules for two hours at the end of every school day, then hell, of course he would do it. 

Karma turned back to his worksheet and glared at it. He refused to let Asano make a fool of him, especially not with this. Math. The one subject in which Karma was the most confident. 

 

\---

 

Asano’s method, it turned out, had some amount of sense. While it wasn’t ideal for him to first present a worksheet with such low-level math, the idea of slowly increasing the difficulty of the worksheets, as a form of assessment, had merit. 

Karma was probably the last to admit this. He wasn’t the only student who’d disliked the first day of tutoring. After the tutors had left (Karasuma had hastily seen them out the door), the entire class felt drained. 

Karma’s group had to deal with Asano, but evidently, their tutor’s smugness wasn’t the worst. Asano was almost sickeningly patronizing, but he wasn’t blatantly insulting. That was a line he wouldn’t (or rather, couldn’t) cross. Asano’s job was to be the leader of the Class A tutors, not to be a bully. No, that was a job best left to the others. Koyama, for example, had evidently spent a good portion of his lesson mocking his students for their presumed lack of academic talent. Koyama, like Araki, didn’t end up with an ideal group of students. Maehara, Hazama, as well as a couple others who didn’t take mockery lightly. Karma didn’t think that group would accomplish very much. He wasn’t the only one with this opinion. 

“How are we supposed to learn anything with Koyama?” Maehara sighed, leaning back in his seat. “This is nuts. What made the headmaster think this would work?”

“Of course we got assigned the top students of Class A. Of _course_ we did…” Sugino sighed. “We're lucky Ms. Bitch skipped today. Probably would've made even more of a fuss.” He looked over at Karma. “Your group got Asano, though, right?”

Karma sighed. “Yeah. It’s not like his teaching methods actually taught us anything.” Karma narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular. “I’m pretty sure he knew we were above his level of assessment.” 

“Almost definitely.” Isogai muttered, a couple desks away. He eyed Karma carefully. “Probably best if you refrain from mouthing off, though. I know it’s tempting, but we just can’t afford it.”

Karma knew what he meant. If anyone in Class E went overboard while talking back, even once, even if it were justified, the entire class would be punished. 

The redhead leaned forward, resting his forehead down on the cool wood of his desk. This entire thing was ludicrous. Forget tutoring - the class would probably be better off without Class A’s help. 

Karma brought his head up when a sudden _whoosh_ rang throughout the classroom. Not to anyone’s surprise, a bright yellow octopus stood at the front of the room, having just flown into the building - he was dressed in his normal teaching attire, save for the red, white and blue scarf around his neck. 

“Koro Sensei!” Kayano greeted. “Where did you go today?” 

The octopus smiled (duh) and chuckled at Kayano’s welcome. “As a matter of fact, Kayano, I went to America today - their football season is just beginning! Everything is so heated.” He said gleefully, although Karma detected a hint of malice in there too - as if the octopus were pleased by the extravagant fuss. Karma could care less, opting to stare out the window while he listened to their teacher discuss the American sport. 

He zoned out eventually, though, studying the leaves on the tree outside. He knew he couldn't complain. He couldn't. He had chosen to be in Asano’s group - hell, he’d publicly declared it. He’d done it because he disliked Asano, and he’d wanted to wipe that smug smile clean off his face. But he also chose Asano because he figured that Asano would be the most reasonable. Karma, although he would never say it out loud, couldn't deny Asano’s academic talent. He was the top student of the top class, _for a reason._ Karma had supposed that out of all his options (all of which were poor), Asano would be his best bet when it came to actually learning something. But the fact that Asano (scratch that, everyone in Class A) was so patronizing and boastful made Karma want to punch them. And, lord, he could. He absolutely could. But that wouldn't accomplish anything. He had learned enough to know that. He’d had enough _experience_ to know that. 

Karma didn't realize that everyone was staring at him until he registered silence. He looked up to see the octopus standing right in front of his desk, looking down at him, his green-and-yellow striped face stretched in a gleeful glare. “The students say the tutoring went about as well as they'd expected - big mouth today, Karma?” 

Karma hated that look on Koro Sensei’s face. “Yeah, so?” 

“Hmm. Maybe you should refrain.” Karma felt his cheeks heat. A couple desks away, he caught Nagisa’s sympathetic smile. He could hear giggles. 

“That’s what Isogai said.” Karma replied, neither absorbing nor ignoring Koro Sensei's advice. 

“Karma, it’s important that you keep your cool here.” Koro Sensei said, resting a tentacle on Karma’s desk, playing with one of his pencils. In response, Karma, without much thought, pulled a small anti knife out of his jacket pocket and made a jab at his teacher’s slimy hand. To no one’s surprise, the tentacle wasn't there when the knife stabbed the desk. The octopus sighed. “That’s your fifth assassination attempt on me today.” He noted. 

“Well, I’m annoyed today.” Karma retorted. He stuck the knife back in his pocket. It was useless. 

By now, some of the students had gone back to their own devices. The octopus continued to look at Karma. “I can’t be here during tutoring sessions, Karma. It’s best if you try to control yourself while I'm not here.” 

“You aren't my mom.” Karma rolled his eyes. Why was he the only one getting this lecture? Other students had mouthed off too. This was ridiculous. 

“I’m not, but I am your teacher.” Koro Sensei’s face had switched back into plain yellow. “It’s my job to supervise you while you’re in my classroom.” 

“That’s where you’re wrong, teach.” Karma stood up, causing some of the students around him to look up. Karma leaned forward, his face inches away from his teacher’s. “While the tutors are here, it’s Karasuma’s job to supervise us. Since he didn't say anything, I'd say it’s safe to assume that my behavior was acceptable.” 

Koro Sensei’s face turned blue, with a purple X plastered on his face. “That's where _you’re_ wrong, Karma.” There was a tentacle, suddenly, underneath his chin, encouraging Karma to look up at his teacher. Although Karma hated the condescending action, he knew better than to protest. 

His teacher, eyes knowing, spoke. “If you talk back, you will lose this battle. Understand? That’s they’re strategy. That is how they plan to take you out.” 

Karma stayed silent, aware of the a handful of the students watching him. 

“Or. Did you really not learn from the final exam?” Koro Sensei’s voiced raised, just a bit. 

Karma’s shoulders tensed. This was the second time today that someone had brought that up. He didn't speak. 

“Did you just get lucky during your battle with Grip?” 

Karma grit his teeth, aware of his reddening face, but didn't respond. 

“Show me that you learned from your failure.” The octopus said, firmly. He retracted his tentacle from under Karma’s chin and turned away from him, walking back towards the front of the class. Karma watched him as he engaged in a conversation with Okano and Kataoka, discussing who knew what. 

“He sure showed you.” Terasaka sniggered, next to him. 

Karma rolled his eyes, grabbed his school bag, and left. 

 

\-----

 

Karma’s house was rather big. Too big, since it was being occupied by practically one person. 

Karma never really liked how big his house was. Sure, when he was younger, it was fun to show off to his friends, but lately he had come to notice how empty it felt. Not that he had the room in his head to care. 

He walked through the front door, which was at least twice his height, and took off his shoes. There were no other pairs of shoes by the door, which meant no one was home. As per usual. 

After flinging his school bag on the dining room table, Karma decided to sit down and think. He plopped himself down into a polished wooden chair, clumsily, and lay his head down on the glass dining table. He refrained from staring at his own reflection. 

Koro Sensei had been correct - of course he had. Karma hadn't seen it as a slip-up at the time, but he had a bad habit of running his mouth, and he’d messed up today. He talked big game, but he realized he had to hold up to it. And complaining about Asano contradicted that action. It had never been a problem when he was younger. If he said he could slam someone's face into a brick wall, it was because he _could_ , in fact, slam someone’s face into a brick wall. He had the athletic chops to hold his own. In school, it was the same way - he was intelligent enough to talk smack about those who judged him harshly for his careless appearance. What had changed, then? 

He groaned and sat up, shifting uncomfortably as his stomach rumbled. He’d skipped lunch, as he always did, but he’d also forgotten to take a juice box to school. He’d barely eaten anything today. Slowly, he stood up and made his way into the kitchen. 

It was a smaller room than you’d expect, considering the size of the rest of the house, but it still held everything that one could possibly need in a kitchen. An enormous refrigerator, an enormous oven, an _enormous_ countertop. The cupboards were made of polished black wood, with smooth metal handles. Pots and pans hung from several hooks on the ceiling. On one of the countertops, near the oven, there was an array of glass jars, holding different spices. 

Karma always thought all of this was ironic, considering the fact that neither of his parents were very good cooks. Karma did most of the cooking for himself. His parents often came home incredibly late and tended to skip dinner and go straight to bed. Of course, they then skipped breakfast the next morning on their rush to work, deciding to go out to eat extravagant lunches at fancy restaurants in the inner city with coworkers. Karma’s mother always told everyone that she was on a diet. It made her son want to gag. 

Karma swiftly made himself a sandwich and ate it, not willing to spend too much time lazing around. His first order of business was an English project - deciphering a chapter of _Animal Farm_ , a classic written in English. While there was a Japanese translation, the students were told to read the first chapter of the English version and take notes - by Friday. Karma found the task a bit daunting - he wasn’t too bad at English, but the thought of having to focus for that long, continuously doing his best to translate, made him feel bored already. There were some students in the class who he knew would have a better time with this - Nakamura had this one in the bag, for sure. Karma knew Nagisa was pretty good at English too. Karma was tempted to just order a copy of the Japanese version online and save himself the trouble. 

When he remembered the tutoring program, he grimaced. He had more important things to worry about than _Animal Farm,_ at the moment.

Karma opted to work on his science homework first. The science that they were working on was chemistry. Stoichiometry, specifically, was just about balancing equations and making the numbers match up on either side of the equation. There was a lot more math in chemistry than Karma had expected there to be, originally - but that was perfectly fine with him. It made things a hell of a lot easier. Karma managed to do all twenty-five problems on the worksheet without breaking too much of a sweat. 

He sat back in his seat and stared at the paper. Even this math was easy. Granted, for this subject, that was to be expected. Karma’s fingers curled tightly around his pencil as his eyebrows knit together. Who was Asano, anyway? To doubt Karma’s skills in math? In anything, really?

“Oh, because you're in _Class E_.” The redhead muttered to himself. He sighed. Asano probably looked at him differently - he knew Karma was the top student of the end class. Asano was intelligent; he must have known that Class E’s success on the final exam had been no accident. So what gives? 

Karma was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard the house’s front door unlock. Karma had never been afraid of intruders, especially after he began to receive professional training from Karasuma. He was well aware that he could handle himself. Doubting it was an actual burglar, but still curious, he sat up straighter in his chair, waiting for the person who’d just entered his house to make themselves known. He was sat in the dining room still, with his homework all laid out on the glass table in front of him. He raised an eyebrow, staring at the doorway, waiting. 

To Karma’s surprise (although, not really), his mother appeared in front of the doorway. She looked hideous. Even Karma, who wasn't very artistic, cringed every time he saw her work attire. She always wore clashing colors - today’s outfit was a bright orange dress with a violet sash, accompanied by a handbag of a different shade of purple. It seemed to be especially bad today, with the orange on her dress creating an undesirable contrast to her red hair - darker than Karma’s bright color, but still red all the same. She didn't look at him as she walked into the dining room and sat down in a chair farther down the table, placing her purse down and rifling through it. She was clearly in the middle of an important conversation over the phone, with her sparkly phone case clutched to her ear. Karma sighed, loudly, which got her attention. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows briefly in acknowledgement.

“No,” She was saying, in her slight nasal voice. “We don’t. I have the paperwork worked out already - yes. Oh, you have that? Great.” 

Karma sighed again, internally, and turned back to his chemistry. He continued to eavesdrop, but there was only so much he could get. 

“Yeah, of course. Thank you, Fujisawa-san. I - yep, no problem. See you in a week.” 

She pressed the hang up button, but she didn't look up at her son. Instead, she began texting someone. Her bright pink nails were absurdly long, and Karma couldn't stand to watch her type. Still, he glanced at her. “Why’re you home?” He asked. 

She didn't look up, continuing to click away. “I came home from work early.” 

_That doesn't answer the question._ “Where’s dad?” 

She didn't answer at first, evidently extremely focused on whatever she was typing. After a second, she remembered that her son had asked her a question. “Sorry?” She coughed. 

“Where’s dad.” 

“Oh - he’s still at work, sweetie. He was in the middle of a meeting.” She paused to glance at a notification that popped up on her screen. “...I had a headache, so I came home.”

“Mm.” Karma hummed, continuing to stare at his mother. Sometimes he enjoyed making her uncomfortable, even a little. There was a stretch of silence, during witch Karma never took his eyes off her. He watched as she continued to type something on her phone for another two minutes, then he coughed. She looked up from her phone and met her son’s stare, a flash of guilt passing over her face. She nodded at his homework. “What’re you working on?” 

There was a second-long pause, and she got another text message and immediately unlocked her phone to answer it, ducking out of the conversation for something apparently much more important. 

“Porn.” Karma said flatly. 

“Mhm.” His mother stood up, still reading something on her phone. “I’m gonna go lay down for a bit.” She said, but she didn’t move right away. She just stood there, with several pink-polished fingers sill hanging off the frame her chair, ready to push the chair in and leave the room. 

Karma waited a couple seconds, then sighed and turned back to his homework. His mother left the room a couple seconds after. 

 

\---

 

“I heard your school is starting a new tutoring program.” 

Karma glanced up at his father, who was sitting in front of the television. Karma had just walked into the living room to grab his textbook. 

He blinked, then paused his footsteps. “Yeah. Just for my year, though.” 

His father had his phone in one hand, and an exotic beer can in another. He wasn’t looking at Karma, opting to look at his phone instead - a sign that this wasn’t a conversation he was truly invested in. “I see.” He said. “Who’s tutoring you?” 

“A guy from Class A.” 

His father snorted. “‘A guy from Class A’? Does he have a name?” 

“Nope.” Karma walked over to an end table and grabbed his textbook. He suddenly remembered something. “Hey - when are you and mom leaving for your trip, again?” 

The two adults of the Akabane household loved to travel. It was one of their passions - one that Karma didn't mind, because traveling opened people up to a bunch of new experiences. He liked to travel too, but it wasn’t like he had the opportunity to do so very often. When he was little, his parents used to tell him stories about the places they’d gone. Karma always listened delightedly, always acutely interested in anything having to do with their exploration. One of his parent’s favorite places to go was India - it was where his mother proposed to his father (because she was progressive and optimistic back then), and it was where she became pregnant with Karma. Of course. 

About a week from now, Karma’s parents would be traveling to Switzerland for about a month and a half (such durations were commonplace), as a vacation. Not that they really needed one.

“Oh - we’re leaving Tuesday morning, around 4 AM. You’ll be asleep when we leave.” His father said, putting down his phone to look at his son. He had the same intense golden eyes that Karma had, but the hair didn’t match at all - his father’s bright eyes and jet black hair made him look rather maniacal. “No funny business while we’re gone, eh?” 

“‘Course not.” Karma said, winking at his father. His father grinned, a look very similar to Karma’s signature sadistic smile. His father had always been better at relating to Karma, better than his mother ever could be. According to his grandparents, Karma’s father had been a lot like Karma when he was young. Rebellious and rambunctious, with a good amount of intellect. Karma supposed his father had just grown out of that stage, but Karma never wanted to stop being himself. 

His mother walked into the room, surprisingly without her phone. She walked over and stood behind her husband on the sofa and placed an arm on his shoulder as a small, muted sign of affection. After watching the TV for a couple seconds, she turned to Karma. “Do you want anything from Switzerland while we’re there, sweetie?” 

They asked that question every time they traveled, and Karma was always taken aback, not knowing what to respond with. He gave them his usual half-ass answer: “Nothing in particular. If you see anything, though…it’d be welcomed with open arms.”

\---

 

“Don’t you get tired of your parents traveling all the time?”

Karma turned to look at Nagisa, who was walking next to him. It was a curious question. “Not really.” He sighed, but then grinned at his friend. “It just means I get the whole house to myself.”

Nagisa gave him a look that he often wore while looking at Karma: _of course_. 

As the two of them hiked up the mountain to the classroom, Karma got lost in thought. His parents did travel all the time, sure, but it was just part of who they were. Considering the fact that neither of them were as exciting as they used to be, Karma supposed that he should be glad they still traveled and explored. He didn’t really get lonely anymore, either. _My parents are traveling again. They’ll be gone for over a month. A normal thing._ He wondered which aspect of the trip his parents would brag about when they came home. They’d never been to Switzerland before. 

“Hey, Karma-kun, do you think that the Class A tutors will give us real work today?” Nagisa asked. 

Karma didn’t bother to think about it. “Nah.” He put his hands behind his head as he walked. “I think it’ll be the same bullshit as yesterday.” 

As they approached the classroom at the top of the mountain, Nagisa and Karma saw that an assassination attempt was in progress - sort of. Okajima and Kataoka were on either side of the yellow octopus, repeatedly swinging their knives at him. It was obvious the two of them hadn’t planned this - their movements were flimsy and desperate, as if they had been put on the spot. Koro Sensei’s face was decorated with flickering green stripes as he easily dodged their swings. Karma could hear his laughter. 

Nagisa turned to Sugino, who like the rest of Class E was watching from a shaded area. “Sugino-kun, what’s going on?”

Sugino sighed, as if he’d had to explain his story too many times before. “Kataoka and Okajima decided to try a sneak attack on Koro Sensei, coming at him from either side.” He looked at the ground. “Didn’t go as planned.” 

“Apparently.” Karma turned to watch them. Kataoka looked a bit more focused, but Okajima’s knife skills were better than hers. Karma turned back to Sugino. “What did Okajima do to get Kataoka to team up with him? There’s no way she would’ve done it for free, she can’t stand the guy.”

“It was actually her idea.” Sugino said. “She knew Okajima was pretty good with a knife, so.”

“She didn’t ask Isogai?” Nagisa asked. 

“He’s out sick today,” Said Maehara, who had just walked over. He leaned against a nearby tree. “She would have asked Okano, but Okano is too fast for Kataoka to keep up with. So am I.” He, too, was watching them carefully as they swung their knives. “Okajima was her best bet.” 

“She thought this through pretty well, huh.” Sugino muttered, staring at the fighting pair. “She considered every person in the class who had decent knife skills.”

Karma nodded, also impressed. Without giving it much thought, he said, “This is why we’re better than Class A.” 

No one responded. It was a sentence that wasn’t necessarily true - there was no guarantee that Class A didn’t have the same skills to think ahead and plan carefully - Karma’s statement had no backup. Of course, no one wanted to admit that Class A was better than them, either. They liked holding onto the idea that Class A was flawed. So, the four boys remained silent as they watched their two classmates fight, listening to cheers of encouragement from the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be out soon. :3 (There will be more action there, I promise) In case y'all get bored because I'm taking too long, you can find me on Tumblr - @assclass-stories. I'm always active on there, constantly cranking out Assassination Classroom shit. *sweats* Thanks and goodnight.


	3. I'm Better Than You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience with this. Shit's gone haywire recently - don't worry. Once summer rolls around, I'll have way more time to write. Don't worry, I have NO intention of abandoning this story. I have so many ideas! 
> 
> Last chapter was a bit of a character study for Karma - this chapter will be a bit of a character study for Gakushū. Enjoy!

“Pay attention, Akabane.” 

“No.” 

Gakushū didn’t have time for this. He reached down and placed the pad of his pointer finger on Akabane’s chemistry worksheet, sliding it closer to the redhead. “Seriously. Stop daydreaming and do this.” 

“Why.” Akabane was being particularly difficult today. Every inch of his body seemed to say, _I literally couldn’t care less about this_. He was leaning back in his chair with his hands hanging in his jacket pockets. His chin was tilted up, and he was glaring down at the worksheet Gakushū had placed in front of him. Gakushū must have let an expression of annoyance slip onto his face, because Akabane grinned. Gakushū hated that grin, because it always meant that Akabane had something to be smug about. 

The tutoring had been in in progress for two weeks now. Every single day, once the school bell rang for dismissal, Gakushū and his four classmates would trudge up the mountain to the Class E building. The five of them had grown to hate the building - the lack of air conditioning was beginning to make tutoring sessions unbearable. The equipment was cheap and the room was small - it was clearly not built for teaching. In truth, before the tutoring sessions, Gakushū had never been up the mountain. He had seen the building in in pictures, but never in person, and that was very obviously not an accident. Gakushū knew by now that part of the Class A/Class E dynamic was that there was no reason to ever go up the mountain - for anyone. He had long since some to the conclusion that his father had purposefully planted that mindset in the students of the main building. _The Class E students aren’t worth climbing the mountain to see._ He had met several students who didn’t even know where the Class E building _was_. The building was treated as a pocket dimension - it’s students aliens. 

Aliens, a funny thought. It wasn’t as if their actions had helped them - on the contrary, at this point in the year Class E seemed to be fine with remaining separate from the main building. Gakushū didn’t know why - he couldn’t even begin to imagine being taught up here. Looking at Akabane, sitting across from him, Gakushū couldn’t help but wonder why the redhead had bothered to show up everyday. Without dwelling on it to much, Gakushū asked. “Why don’t you just skip?” 

Akabane hadn’t really been looking away, per se, but Gakushū suddenly felt Akabane’s eyes on him, _really_ looking at him. “...I could. You’d probably would get even more annoyed if I did, which would be a bonus.” Akabane sat up a little straighter. “But I really like seeing the look on your face when I complete an easy worksheet.” He said cheekily. 

Gakushū fought the urge to glare. It was it true - it annoyed him when Aakabane completed the worksheets quickly. They were two weeks in; gone were the days where Gakushū gave his students easy worksheets that an elementary school student could complete. He had begun giving them average work. Still easy enough, but not sickeningly so. Yet, although the five others in the group completed the worksheets at a reasonable pace (taking long enough for Gakushū to reasonably walk around and check on them, helping them if necessary), Akabane always made a point to complete the worksheet in record time. Gakushū always took it as a, _see, I’m smarter than you!_ , which made him roll his eyes. Part of him wanted to go back to giving them easy worksheets, if only to see Akabane’s angry expression. _That_ had been priceless. 

“Tutoring means I have to actively help you.” Gakushū said. He held Akabane’s gaze firmly. It was somewhat of a habit Gakushū had developed: meet the redhead’s gaze, because he’s trying to intimidate you. _And he can’t, because he’s not better than you._ Gakushū had never taken notice of Akabane’s eyes until recently - a devious golden color that eyed everything with a sharp-as-a-tack intensity. “Those are the rules.” 

Akabane’s expression didn’t change, remaining the epitome of mockery. “What made you think I needed tutoring?” He retorted, leaning back in his chair again. Next to him, a small student with blue hair - Shiota, if Gakushū remembered correctly - eyed Akabane with trepidation. 

Gakushū rolled his eyes. He was tempted to say, _because you’re in Class E,_ but he decided against it. That argument by itself was petty and trivial, though he would never admit that to his peers. 

He tilted his chin down to glare at the redhead. “Prove to me that you don’t.”

Akabane narrowed his eyes, annoyed. “Haven’t I already? Haven’t we all?” He lazily gestured to the other students in the group. Isogai and Kataoka were clearly trying to keep themselves focused on their work, but they kept glancing up at Akabane. Gakushū figured that they didn’t want him to make a scene. Akabane continued. “With your half-ass worksheets, it’s a real wonder you’re qualified as a _teacher.”_

“I’m definitely more qualified than _you.”_ Gakushū retorted swiftly. “I don’t see why you’re protesting so much.” He narrowed his own eyes in response to Akabane’s golden slits. “Surely someone on your… _academic level_ would appreciate receiving help from me.”

Shiota’s eyes widened a little, as if he knew what was coming. “Yeah, because you’re so _great.”_ Akabane muttered, Still, he sighed, taking the chemistry worksheet and starting to work on the first problem. 

As Gakushū watched him blow through the worksheet, he couldn’t help but wonder. The question definitely bothered Gakushū. Why _did_ Class E need a tutoring program? Or any other class, for that matter?

If Gakushū were to look at it the way his father clearly wanted everyone to look at it, then he could come to the conclusion that it wasn’t _just_ Class E that needed tutoring. The headmaster said he was doing this for all of his students, but Gakushū knew that was a lie. The question was, what was the _truth?_

Gakushū pushed the thought aside when Okano asked him for his assistance on one of the chemistry problems. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment from having to do so, and Gakushū wondered how red Akabane’s cheeks would be if he ever needed to ask for his help. Oh, that would be glorious. He made that a goal, suddenly - to make Akabane go red with mortification. That would be sight. He’d do it, someday. 

Of course, that would be pretty difficult, at least right now. Akabane had a tendency to never skip a beat, sliding in insults whenever he could. 

Evidently, today was no acception. 

Gakushū took several blank pieces of paper out of his backpack, passing them out to the students. Okano, Isogai, Kataoka, Kanzaki and Shiota all took them from his hands, but Akabane didn’t, opting to raise his eyebrows instead. Gakushū sighed and placed it firmly on his desk. He eyed the others. “We’ll practice periodic table knowledge. I want each of you to give me a total of four elements. Give me three transition metals and one nonmetal.” He nodded to the blank sheet of paper on Akabane’s desk. “Write them down - using the English alphabet.”

He could see the shifts in their expressions - _oh,_ that’s _the hard part of this assignment._ Gakushū knew they didn’t like it, but he needed to nail them on English too.

Of course, Akabane, ahead as he always was, thought for a second, then wrote down four elements and whipped his paper up to show Gakushū. 

Gakushū glanced at it, and his eyes widened a little. The handwriting was messy and unpracticed (he would need to give them worksheets on English handwriting), but it was still perfectly clear: 

**Cu N Tb Ag**

Gakushū let out an exasperated breath and yanked the sheet of paper from the redhead’s hands, nearly ripping it in half. Akabane didn’t react much, save for his eyes, bright and sadistic. “No need to be aggressive, Asano.” 

Gakushū crumpled the paper in his hands and shoved it into his pocket. “Are you serious." 

"What? I wrote four symbols down. Just like you asked," Akabane added cheekily. 

_Why does every lesson have to be like this?_ "Try again." He seethed, ripping a new piece of paper out of his bag and placing it on Akabane's desk. 

Akabane took his pencil and began to write, but before he did, he looked back up at his tutor. "Copper, nitrogen, terbium and silver. That fit your requirements, right?" 

"Tch." It had fit the requirements, sure. but there was no way Akabane didn't know what he was doing. He was smart enough to know the English alphabet well enough to successfully string together the letters and syllables. 

But before Gakushū could respond, Akabane's eyes widened is fake surprise. "Oh, _that's_ what you thought I wrote!" He laughed, innocently enough, but his eyes were coy. "Sorry. Didn't mean to write that. _After all,"_ His voice suddenly became quieter, deeper. Mocking. It was almost accusatory. "...we Class E kids wouldn't be smart enough to do _that,_ now would we." 

Gakushū, despite every inch of his body shaming him for doing so, looked away in exasperation, breaking the intense glare he had. He couldn't handle any more of this today. 

 

\-----

 

Gakushū’s school bag wasn’t very big. One would think that an intelligent student would need a bigger bag, but Gakushū's bag was small, just big enough to hold a notebook, two pencils, two pens, a single eraser, and a folder for miscellaneous papers. He didn’t need anything else. It often baffled his teachers, when he was younger, but Gakushū stuck by the fact that extra papers, books, binders, pencils and pens were all unnecessary. If you were able to organize your thoughts and accomplish academic tasks with few materials, then you could do that in the real world as well. 

All of this to say: it was incredibly easy for Gakushū to leave. 

And he _always_ was the first of the tutors to leave once the sessions were over. He was in no way willing to stick around for longer than he needed to. The second the clock struck four, Gakushū said a polite goodbye to his students and left the building. He had definitely begun to despise the place - tutoring had become his least favorite part of the day. 

Today, however, he couldn’t leave right away. Koyama had specifically asked Gakushū before the tutoring session to stay behind and wait for him - probably to complain to him privately. It wasn’t unusual for Koyama to complain about something. _It’s his only trait._

Gakushū would have normally declined and seen himself out, but a small part of him felt as if he owed it to his classmate. He wasn’t incredibly close with Koyama, but the reality was that they were related in more than one way. Both of them were incredibly bright students - and, now, both of them were struggling with this tutoring program. Gakushū figured that he could spare five minutes to let his fellow tutor vent his petty frustrations. 

He was waiting outside the Class E building as Koyama gathered his things. Leaning against the cool wood, eyes closed, allowing himself a small break. Akabane was really starting to give him a headache. Would it be possible to transfer him to another group? Maybe, but he _had_ volunteered to take the second group of six Class E students. There was no real way to turn back on that decision. 

He was about to go back inside and call for Koyama (because the guy tended to dawdle), but he was distracted by the sound of voices. He couldn’t hear them clearly, but it was obvious that the voices were coming from somewhere around the corner, near the left side of the building. The more he listened, the more heated the voices seemed to be. He couldn’t really help creeping a bit closer and hanging near the corner to eavesdrop. 

Although he couldn’t see who was talking, he was easily able to identify Isogai’s determined whisper paired with Akabane’s muted drawl. He pushed himself closer into the wall, straining his ears. 

“-don’t care if he’s an asshole.” Isogai was saying. Gakushū immediately knew what they were talking about. “Keep your antics under control.” 

“A bit harsh.” Akabane muttered. Gakushū heard shifts in the grass, as if Akabane were rocking back and forth on his heels. 

“I don’t mean to be harsh.” Isogai sighed. “I’m just saying that poking at Asano won’t do us any favors.” 

“It might put him in his place a bit.” At that, Gakushū scowled. _Excuse me?_

“We can’t care about that.” Isogai paused. “You and Asano are both smart.” 

Gakushū’s scowl intensified. From around the corner, Akabane replied heatedly. “Maybe, but he isn’t _above_ me.” 

“He isn’t above _us,_ Karma.”

Akabane didn’t respond. Isogai sighed again. It sounded to Gakushū as though this wasn’t their first conversation. “All I’m saying is that you’re pushing him to the edge. We can’t afford it when we’re dealing with Class A.” 

There was another small pause. “...I hate the fact that they have power where we don’t.” Akabane muttered. 

“I know.” Isogai said something else after that, quieter, but Gakushū couldn’t hear it, no matter how hard he tried. Gakushū furrowed his eyebrows. _Power?_

Akabane’s response to Isogai’s whispers came out quick and fast, and it startled Gakushū. “I don’t care what he said-” Isogai said something else that Gakushū couldn’t hear, but again, he heard Akabane’s response. “I _know_. I learned that in Okinowa.”

Okinowa? _As in their summer trip?_ Gakushū was thoroughly confused, but he didn’t have the time to ponder. Just then, he heard the two of them shift, and Gakushū threw himself backwards just as they walked around the corner. Gakushū stood, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, staring ahead. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Isogai and Akabane as they walked past him. Isogai didn’t seem to notice him, continuing to walk away, going home for the day. But Akabane noticed him all too easily. He stopped walking and turned around to face Gakushū.

It was one of those rare moments where Gakushū didn’t quite know what to feel - he normally wouldn't have bothered to hold the eye contact, but in this instance, this one instance, he decided not to move. An odd mixture of frustration and surrealness swelled in his chest, but he shoved it down, meeting Akabane’s gaze. Their stares were of equal intensity, observing each other down to the most finite detail. Later, when asked why he chose to stare and say nothing, Gakushū wouldn't know. The two teenagers stood, facing each other, neither willing to move, neither completely aware that they were sharing this moment. There was a breeze, stirring the jet black fabric of Akabane's blazer, but the redhead didn't seem to notice. The sun was beginning to set, the clouds gradually shifting from white to pink and marigold. The light made Akabane's hair look as if it were on fire - it was the most _visible_ thing about him. The sun was casting a sort of misplaced light over the trees...they looked almost highlighted, and it occurred to Gakushū that he had never had the opportunity to see a _sunset_ on the mountain, either. 

Akabane's eyes were unreadable. For once, he didn't look annoyed, but Gakūshu couldn't put his finger on what he _did_ look to be, in that moment. His eyes weren't widened or narrowed - they were only _open,_ giving Gakushū a look that made the headmaster's son wonder if he could ever forget it. Shiny and golden, catlike, dangerous. Enticing. Gakushū had never felt anything like it before. He had never been so interested in someone's gaze. 

And suddenly the moment was over. Akabane turned his back and walked away, down the path, and time returned to its normal speed (but when had it stopped?). Gakushū released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. His eyes widened, just a little, because he realized that it had been _Akabane_ who had ended the moment. Gakushū wondered if he knew. Did he recognize that? Whatever it had been? Was him turning away a message of knowledge? _I'm above this_. A message of superiority? Gakushū quickly corrected himself. _Another_ one of his _ridiculous_ and _useless_ messages of superiority?

His nails dug into his arms. He was definitely over-thinking this. He was too on edge, too annoyed with Akabane, too annoyed with the tutoring program, too annoyed with _Koyama,_ who was taking _way_ too long now- 

"Right here, idiot." Came Koyama's nasally voice from behind him. Gakushū whipped his head around to face his friend, who was standing by the door, bag in hand. Had he been talking out loud? Did Koyama hear anything? How long had he been standing there?

Koyama either let the moment pass out of necessity, or he had an incredibly short attention span. "I can't get anything done with those kids." He groaned. He slung his bag over his shoulder and began walking away. Gakushū found it a bit humorous that Koyama referred to the Class E students as _kids_ , as if he were a much older and wiser teacher. 

Gakushū shook his head and jogged a couple paces, catching up with Koyama. "Are the students bothering you?" He asked. 

Koyama released a long, overdramatic sigh, and Gakushū wondered if he should've just left and gone home. "Yeah. They can't even do dimensional analysis without messing up." 

"Oh, you also taught them chemistry today?" 

"What? Yeah." He suddenly laughed in that obnoxious way of his - an arrogant jangle that made Gakushū want to slap a hand over his mouth. "Honestly - who the hell can't do dimensional analysis?!" 

"Did you give them a calculator?" Gakushū deadpanned. 

"No, why would I have? I can do it without a calculator." 

This, _this_ was the problem with most of the Class A students. _I am the best, and everyone should be like me._ Gakushū found it toxic. The mindless arrogance and privilege. He, of course, knew without a shred of a doubt that he _was_ the best. He was the smartest of the bunch, and he had the most responsibility. But he didn't feel the need for everyone to meet that standard. He knew a lot of people couldn't. He saw it as a way of weeding out the weak. 

Koyama, of course, was one of the most pretentious and audacious people Gakushū had ever met. He was sure that Koyama could, in fact, do dimensional analysis without a calculator. Technically, anyone could. It would just take longer. Hell, Gakushū never did it without a calculator. Who had the time? Did Koyama _really_ expect the students to do all of their math without a calculator? Or was it just his way of sending a message of superiority? 

_A message of superiority..._

Was Koyama trying to make himself feel important? Was that what this was? It was no secret that the Class A students hated this program just as much as Class E did. Was Koyama subconsciously trying to put the Class E kids ( _students_ ) in their place? Was _Gakushū_ doing that? 

Theoretically, Class E was made up of the most dimwitted students in the school. But that clearly wasn't true. These students were capable of handling themselves. 

But, then, of course, the question remained. _Why?_

Koyama had continued to rant, unaware that Gakushū had tuned out."-and it's impossible!" He was saying. Gakushū turned to look at him. Koyama's hands were moving around wildly, his face morphing into different expressions, making it both incredibly easy and ridiculously impossible to understand the point he was trying to make. "I have this bitch - you know Rinka Hayami? She refuses to speak to me!" 

"Oh?" 

"Yeah! She doesn't say 'thanks' or 'please' or ask for help. She just does exactly what I ask of her, nothing more. Nothing less. But she makes a point of it, you know? She just seems so unenthusiastic and unwilling. It's preposterous, is what it is..." 

Gakushū sort of understood where Koyama was coming from. Akabane was a bit like that too - unwilling to cooperate unless forced to do so, and even when he did, he made it clear that he was only doing what you asked because he decided to. Not because you wanted him to. 

"That's definitely annoying." He said absently. 

"It's crazy. And then there's this other kid, Hirito Maehara, you know him? He's also a bitch. Always talking back - you know he used to date Seo's girlfriend?" 

Gakushū thought for a second. "Kaho?"

"Yeah! She was actually double-doing them both for a bit - but she only did it to spare Maehara's feelings, apparently. He dropped down to Class E - he was too dumb for her. She knew they'd break up eventually anyway - middle school relationships never last. Especially when half the pair is in _that_ class. Turns out Maehara got angry and started yelling at her in the street - luckily Seo was there." Koyama smirked. "Shoved the kid into a rain puddle on the street. Araki was there too." He sniggered. "Sure gave him a beating!" 

For a second, Gakushū wondered if Maehara would have told the story differently, but he just shook his head, pushing the thought aside. "Interesting." 

"Yeah. And then your dad showed up, and they had to stop kicking him. A shame, really." 

Gakushū hadn't heard about this at all, but that wasn't unusual. To mask his surprise, he just nodded. Koyama saw it as a signal to continue. "Yeah. Although, your dad totally threatened to expel Maehara if he got up to any shenanigans. Sure shook him up." He said gleefully. 

"Huh." 

"Yeah. Asshat Maehara. I hate dealing with him." Koyama's face suddenly took a form of impossible anger, fists clenching at his sides. "Honestly, I don't even get it. Why do we even _need_ to do this -" 

They had reached the bottom of the mountain, and Gakushū wasn't willing to stay any longer. "Well, I need to get going." He said, abruptly cutting Koyama off. Koyama didn't seem to notice that, though. 

"Yeah, whatever." He said, his voice coming out a bit more calm. Forcefully calm. He turned around and walked towards the opposite street. "See ya tomorrow." 

Gakushū shifted the strap of his messenger bag. "See you." 

 

\-----

 

Gakushū's least favorite part of the day was tutoring Class E. Without a doubt. 

Second on that list, which before the tutoring program had officially been the worst part of Gakushū's day, was having dinner with his father. 

The headmaster and his son didn't talk. At least, not in the way normal families would. But that was to be expected - after Gakushū's mother had left, family life had diminished. He hadn't expected anything else. 

Gakuhō Asano was a rigid man at first glance, but he had the charisma to swiftly and gently push that opinion into oblivion. So did his son - perhaps that was the way people knew for sure that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. 

Another trait that the two of them had was being persuasive and powerful with an iron grip - what some would call being passive aggressive. 

That's what dinners were like at the Asano household. 

His father sat across from him, eating rice. The way he ate rice specifically was odd - he ate it slowly, too slowly to get a decent amount in one bite using chopsticks. He didn't say anything for a bit, but then he put his chopsticks down (not that he was finished eating) and smiled at his son across the table. Gakushū, seeing it as a message of _stop eating and look at me_ , did the same with his food. 

"How was your day, Asano?" 

That was something that Gakushū had gotten used to - his father very rarely called him by his first name. "It was alright. How about yours?" 

"Perfectly acceptable." The headmaster lowered his chin slightly. "How were the Class E students today?" 

Gakushū wasn't thrown off guard. He knew it was coming - his father asked about them often. "Same as always." He said, hoping to successfully communicate his opinion of them: smart, he supposed, but not smart enough. Lazy and disrespectful. _Like Karma Akabane, for example._

His father's expression was difficult to decipher. Gakushū often described Class E tutoring sessions vaguely, although it wasn't really on purpose. Gakuhū furrowed his eyebrows. Was the headmaster looking for something specific? What did he want Gakushū to say? 

His father suddenly sat up a little straighter and looked his son dead in the eye. _He wants something._

"How's Karma Akabane?" 

Gakushū blinked. "Sorry?" 

"Oh, you know." His father waved his hand a little. Not dismissively, but in a, _you know what I'm talking about_ sort of way. "He _is_ Class E's top student. I'm only asking. Is he causing you any trouble?" 

Gakushū paused. "Nothing that I haven't been able to handle." He was tempted to pick his chopsticks back up - a signal that he wouldn't be willing to elaborate - but he decided against it. "He has an attitude, yes, but that's to be expected." 

"Yes." The headmaster's stillness broke, and he picked his chopsticks back up again. Gakushū kept his chopsticks on the table. 

His father took one small bite of rice, then paused. "He does have a history of delinquency." 

"I'm aware of this." 

He smiled again - _God, Gakushū would never_ not _be unnerved by that gesture._ "I want you to get closer to him." 

It was so straightforward of a command - blunt, unarguable. Gakushū would have choked if he had been drinking. _"Why?"_ He didn't mean for it to come out as bitter and incredulous as it did. What did his father mean, 'close'? Get close to him. Why? How? 

"Because," The headmaster barely moved, ignoring his son's obvious fluster. "It's good for a teacher to know his students well." 

Gakushū's eyes widened a little in partial disbelief. "Coming from you - " He realized he had let his composure slip quite a bit. He closed his eyes for a long second, then opened them. His father's expression hadn't changed. 

Gakushū felt a touch of vertigo. "Why do you want me to do this?" He asked. His voice was quiet, but not timid. He wouldn't allow it to be. "What are you after, with this?" 

Perhaps it had been foolish to question his father outright - but the headmaster just continued to look at him as though he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. "I don't have an ulterior motive, Gakushū." He said. With an eerie steadiness, he brought his chopsticks to his lips, despite the fact that there was nothing to eat. "You're far too suspicious." 

Gakushū decided, right then and there, that he had every right to be. 

 

\-----

 

His evening routine was the exact same, every day. It had been for the last ten years of his life. 

After dinner, Gakushū went upstairs to take a shower. He dried himself, put on his nightclothes, brushed his teeth, briefly thought about shaving (although he didn't, because he rarely had to) and then went down the hall to his bedroom. 

On his way there, every single evening, he passed the only photograph of his mother in the entire house. It was hanging on the wall, and it awkwardly stood out due to the wall's pale color and the absolute lack of _anything_ near it. No other photos hung on the wall, or even in that hallway - just the one picture. 

It was a small picture in a small frame. Gakushū had not yet been born when the photo was taken - it only showed her. Not with his father, nor with friends. Just her, Asuke Sonohara, standing in front of a rosebush in a pale pink summer dress that made the rest of her look ghostly. She was an aloof, fragile woman. White skin, pale hair, skinny frame. Every part of her body looked as if it were about to break - from what little memory Gakushū had of her, her personality was similar. 

Looking at her in this picture, Gakushū studied her face. She wasn't smiling, exactly, but she still looked happy. Her amber eyes (likely her strongest feature) were wide and crinkled in the corners, as though she were either about to laugh or had just finished doing so. She was young in this picture, a mere twenty-two years of age (she hadn't even gotten married yet, if Gakushū remembered correctly). Bright and healthy. Gakushū's father rarely spoke of her, and Gakushū wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to know more about her. There was still so much mystery to her, although it was obvious enough why she had left. It hadn't been his father's choice. 

Gakushū didn't study her picture every night, but he did today. He wondered what she would do if she were here. Would she hold him? That was a weird thought. Gakushū hadn't ever been 'held' in a loving manner, not since he was little. He remembered his mother wasn't bold, but she was always affectionate towards him. Would she still be that way now? Did he want it?

He didn't know what made him stay there, staring at the picture. Nothing ever triggered the need - some nights it was just instinctual. Still, staring at it, in an almost humorous way, Gakushū wondered what his mother would have thought of Karma Akabane. He probably would have hated her. Who knew how she would have felt about him? About someone so rambunctious and crude and lazy? 

Gakushū realized with a sudden shock that he might know more about Karma Akabane's personality than that of his own mother. God, was that true? His hand slowly reached up, covering part of his mouth in a sort of subdued surprise. _Well,_ that _couldn't be a good thing._

He shook his head and walked to his room. He needed sleep. At was already midnight - he and his father never ate dinner at an appropriate time. The two of them were always working instead. 

He wondered what he would do with Akabane for the rest of the tutoring sessions. Would everything be like this? Would it ever change? Would Akabane always be this obnoxious, this uncooperative, this disrespectful? Gakushū only had to hold out for a couple more months, right? 

Then, of course, there was the conversation with his father. Why did he want Gakushū to get closer to Akabane? Did he mean, like, a friendship? God. _Why?_ That seemed to be the question, didn't it. Why was the headmaster pushing for this program when it obviously wasn't needed? What was he planning? Gakushū hated letting things happen _to_ him. He wanted to be in control of the situation, whatever it was. 

As he fell asleep, with an unexpected suddenness, Gakushū imagined the sunset on the mountain. And although he didn't like it, he couldn't picture the scene without a specific pair of golden eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! And thank you for your patience for this chapter - I didn't mean for it to take as long as it did. 
> 
> Special thanks to @livixbobbiex and my sister for pushing me to get this one done. (@livixbobbiex also came up with that little chemistry joke from Karma haha. Go check her shit out, btw. It's amazing. 10/10 can confirm) 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at @assclass-stories

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be out soon. :3 In case y'all get bored because I'm taking too long, you can find me on Tumblr - @assclass-stories. I'm always active on there, constantly cranking out Assassination Classroom shit. *sweats* Thanks and goodnight.


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